Emperor fish in Tri An Lake: Should be happy or worried?

After the article " Hunting for strange fish encroaching Tri An Lake ", there were many conflicting opinions about the Emperor's fish. People said that this is an invasive alien species and needs to be destroyed but there are also opinions, the Emperor's fish is a very delicious meat fish. If they develop, it is beneficial, not harmful.

Fish Emperor: People worrying about invasive creatures .

Emperor Fish (bottom) or American Sea bass: Look outside, it seems difficult to distinguish (Photo: webiocosm.com and nas.er.usgs.gov).

There are two contradictory views on the scientific name of a new fish species appearing in Tri An Lake. Mr. Phung My Trung said it was the Emperor's fish (Cichla ocellaris). As for Prof. Mai Dinh Yen, an expert at Hanoi University of Natural Sciences, is the American Sea bass (Micropterus salmoides).

According to Master Vu Vi An, Inland Fisheries Resources and Exploitation Department of the Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 2, based on the pictures posted by Mr. Phung My Trung in the article 'Hunting for strange fish invading the lake Tri An ' is really the Emperor's fish, not American Sea bass.

Here are two important characteristics to distinguish between these two species with the naked eye so that anyone can distinguish these two species. For fish Emperor (Cichla ocellaris) has a very clear black spot on the upper edge of the stalk of the micro-tail, the micro-segment is divided into two parts very clearly (the part has hard spines and no part of hard spines), and American Sea bass ( Micropterus salmoides) have no black spots on the stalk of the micro-tail, the back of the back is not clearly divided.

Based on the pictures of Mr. Phung My Trung published in the article " Hunting strange fishes invading Tri An Lake " and two distinguishing characteristics mentioned above, it can be concluded that strange fish appear in Tri An Lake is Hoang fish. sole, not American bass. Emperor fish are fish that normally eat fry (predatory fish) so Emperor fish are not popularly cultured.

This is a year-round fish species that has a great reproductive capacity (9-15 thousand eggs / kg of fish). The time that the Emperor's fish pants doubled in quantity was 15 months (US Sea bass is 4.5–14 years). Therefore the number of fish will increase very rapidly over time. Because they have a very strong invasion of both food and habitat, native fish species may be reduced due to not competing with this fish for food and habitat, making the environment more fertile. Thai changed.

Under the above situation, the State needs to control and strictly manage the Emperor fish selling establishments to make ornamental fish (if any). The second is to communicate widely on the media about the dangers of this fish for people to recognize. The third is to encourage fishermen to catch the Emperor's fish as much as possible by buying Emperor fish for a higher price.

Arhat fish

La Han fish, one of the most popular ornamental fishes, is also being invaded by many people (Photo: H. Cat).

However, when referring to the Emperor's fish story, currently thriving, threatening to destroy the ecological balance and destroy native fish species living in Tri An Lake - Dong Nai, Mr. Nguyen Van Lang, Chairman Ho Chi Minh City Aquarium, said"there is no problem!". If the Emperor's fish grows strongly in Tri An Lake, it is . something good! .Happy people are meat fish, delicious and not harmful.

Mr. Nguyen Van Lang, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City's Aquarium Fishery: Emperor Fish does not harm biodiversity for native species (Photo: H. Cat).

According to Mr. Lang, the current source of wild fish is very limited, so it is necessary to feed. As for the Emperor's fish, the meat is very delicious, similar to tilapia meat. Therefore, in addition to nature if there is a fish that survives, such as the Emperor's fish, it proliferates, it is a good thing because it is also a meat fish, no harm to the lips school

More recently, information on La Han fish , a type of fish that is being loved by hobbyists, is currently thriving in Vietnam, threatening to become an invasive alien. Mr. Lang said he went to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore and found that these countries did not prohibit farming and did not prohibit dropping into the river. Thus, it is impossible to say that La Han fish is harmful because if it is harmful, the legal system of these countries has prevented measures.

Still according to Mr. Nguyen Van Lang, in fact, until now, the Ministry of Fisheries has only one official document prohibiting the import, prohibition of raising and banning the dissemination of Piranhas fish. However, in reality, those who bring smuggled fish have hundreds of forms, especially the border from Chau Doc to Tay Ninh to bring strange fish into our country.